Fernweher – Frozen Beauty

Hailing from the outskirts of the Electronica – ‘the Dark Side of Electronic Music’ as he would say – is Italian artist Claudio Taglieri, who is better known by his artist name, Fernweher. The Dublin based record producer is committed to plying his craft in such a manner that his output embodies the idea behind his artist name – in German, ‘Fernweh’ means a strong need to travel, to create parallel realities or simply, wanderlust. And for an artist who claims influence of the likes of James Blake, Bjork, Sigur Ros and Sampha, Taglieri surely delivers with great adeptness as a producer, setting the standards acutely high with his latest release titled ‘Frozen Beauty’ from his upcoming album ‘The Son Of The Black Ocean’.

Released on Ditto Music, the track sees Fernweher take on the role of a producer, singer and songwriter – all shoes which he fills in more than perfectly. Coming to the track itself, ‘Frozen Beauty’ is a masterpiece in its totality, a musical Chiaroscuro of sorts which showcases the Italian playing around with distorted vocals at often soothingly slow tempo, while nevertheless keeping together the seriousness of the delivery. The track’s music video too holds its own, depicting a strong dialectic between the two lovers – the ocean and the shore – and appears to be an unintended ode to Bergman’s visuals.

While it is often the case that Electronic music today leaves us helplessly searching for meaning in it, Fernweher’s latest is a track that warrants such a search at the very outset and delivers it – when we venture further into the track, we find a staggering depth in the expressive sadness, longing, love and individuality. Eerie yet so attached, melancholic yet so mellifluous, ‘Frozen Beauty’ is a track that showcases, among other great many attributes, an unparalleled maturity from Taglieri, who puts in a soul-jolting vocal shift in the first single from his upcoming concept album.